What are the 4 types of running shoes?

Are you thinking of the best shoes to wear for your running sessions scheduled ahead? Well, you don’t have to rely on hearsay about these shoes as this article provides a good craft piece of material about it. Let’s get into it by answering the three types of running shoes.

There are four types of running shoes that you can find which are: Motion Control Shoes, Stability shoes, cushioning shoes, and Minimalist shoes.

The first type of running shoes to be dealt with in this article is motion-control footwear. These are a special kind of shoes where your feet roll inwards on dual-density midsoles or footbridges. Generally, the shoes are ten millimeter-sized heel drops which are typically different from other shoes. 

You end up requiring this particular type of shoes due to the nature of your feet that requires a bit harder midsole, better known as overpronation. In brief, motion control shoes suit the following factors; low arches, flat feet, overpronators, and heavy runners, among others, to mention a few.

The second type of running shoe is stability shoes, most preferred by athletes or runners in general, citing cushioning and support features. You don’t need to have a unique gait and shaped feet features. Their design contains the inward rolling of your feet as you run. 

Nothing supersedes the naming of this type of shoe which is apt and appropriate to signal support and stability. Thus, stability shoes are most suitable for you if you have normal arches, neutral feet, and pronators.

Last but not least, the third type of shoe is known as cushioning shoes. They are the opposite of the functions of motion control footwear, and they aren’t typically known as neutral running shoes. They are lighter and can hardly make your feet turn inwards as you run. Their parts are quite visible if you need the type of shoes with enhanced cushioning properties on the heel and forefoot areas.

Given the above information, the onus to choose the appropriate and suitable type of shoes rests upon you. See our review of Forefoot Running Shoes.

Which type of shoes is best for running?

It would be absurd to advise you that one type of running shoe is best for running! The truth is, you are the one to decide which shoes are best for running, considering the nature of running ahead of you, your pronation type, and the level of comfort you anticipate. 

In this case, you need to start by identifying your pronation type first, as it has implications for your running. As such, overpronation and underpronation impinges on your feet’ ability to absorb impact naturally, requiring artificial support that eliminates the added stress and instability all over your body. 

Overpronation fits well with motion control footwear, whereas underpronation is suitable for cushioning shoes. Another pertinent factor to consider is matching the shoe to your run. For instance, running over a long distance requires you to look for shoes that have sufficient comfort and stability. As the name suggests, stability shoes are therefore most suitable. 

In addition to this, you can determine which type of shoes is best for running, citing its comfort level. As per the three types of shoes briefly explained earlier, guiding factors can be the heel drop level, barefoot feel, level of cushioning, etc.

How do you tell if you Overpronate or Underpronate?

So first things first! Let’s start by defining what ‘pronation’ means to you. Pronation generally refers to the inward rolling of one’s foot when it strikes the ground. It is a natural process that happens to everyone only that there exist variations from one person to another.

The essence of pronation is that it’s a way in which our bodies absorb shock from striking the ground. It is normal if you find your feet slightly rolling towards one direction. However, it becomes either overpronation or underpronation if you noticeably do it excessively in one order.

Consider it underpronation if your feet arches barely collapse while if it collapses excessively, that’s overpronation. The one lying between the two is known as neutral pronation. You can tell if you overpronate or underpronate if you look at the direction in which the sole of your shoes is collapsing due to excessive friction and impact. 

More so, associated pain can arise all over your body whose symptoms include pain in your ankles, shins, knees, Achilles tendon, outer hip, arches, and heel.

What are everyday running shoes?

Everyday running shoes are a type of shoes classified under road running shoes. They are suitable for you either being a newer runner or as a seasoned one. Everyday running shoes are designed classically with material that surrounds your feet in luxury and considerable comfort.

Their level of durability is estimated to cover 300 to 600 miles while handling various stresses, which comes with regular running. The other two types of shoes that fall within the same shoe category of road running shoes are lightweight and race shoes. 

After all, you can hardly find “an all perfect” running shoes citing variations from one person to another. Therefore, you must bear in mind that your choice for are running shoes factored by considering your weight, biomechanics, nature of the terrain you run on, and the nature of your feet, among others, to mention but a few.

What level of support does l need?

Choosing the most appropriate running shoes for yourself is way beyond just buying a particular color or a new pair of shoes. There are prime factors that make you fall into a genuine reciprocal symbiotic relationship with it. 

Key considerations run should be premised on the weight of a particular shoe, drop type, and cushioning level. You need to know that lightweight shoes tend to have less cushioning (although not always). So at most, you need to wear a bit heavier shoes identified with a considerable amount of cushioning.

Moreover, it would be best if you had support to choose the best shoes with appropriate shoe drop. In this case, the variance between the heel and forefoot measurements goes a long way in determining whether you wear a minimalist type of shoes or the generality of others. 

Finally, cushioning is very important in determining the suitability of particular shoes. Every day running on undulating rock terrain requires wearing well-cushioned shoes. These decisively deal with blisters and pronation accordingly.